Making better decisions about built assets: learning by doing. This research will assist the built environment professions and their clients to make better decisions about new developments through a novel 'learning by doing' approach. Used successfully in other fields such as natural resource management, this idea will capitalise on the large number of asset investments undertaken to benchmark original stakeholder intentions and aspirations against the reality of current performance. Decisions w ....Making better decisions about built assets: learning by doing. This research will assist the built environment professions and their clients to make better decisions about new developments through a novel 'learning by doing' approach. Used successfully in other fields such as natural resource management, this idea will capitalise on the large number of asset investments undertaken to benchmark original stakeholder intentions and aspirations against the reality of current performance. Decisions will be re-evaluated in the context of contemporary economic, social and environmental criteria to enable existing multi-criteria models to deliver more sustainable outcomes that are also feasible and in the national interest, and consequently minimise the industry's current exposure to future climate change.Read moreRead less
Strategic Assessment of Building Adaptive Reuse Opportunities. This research will review a large database of existing buildings, many of which have exceeded their useful life. An innovative model will be developed to enable Australia's building and property industries to identify the most viable opportunities for building adaptive reuse. The model will integrate financial, environmental and social sustainability, enabling community stakeholders to make informed decisions with widespread benefits ....Strategic Assessment of Building Adaptive Reuse Opportunities. This research will review a large database of existing buildings, many of which have exceeded their useful life. An innovative model will be developed to enable Australia's building and property industries to identify the most viable opportunities for building adaptive reuse. The model will integrate financial, environmental and social sustainability, enabling community stakeholders to make informed decisions with widespread benefits. The research is aligned with the national priority area: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia: Transforming Existing Industries. The expertise developed in this project will be regionally and internationally applicable, providing momentum for the growing adaptive design and conservation market.Read moreRead less
Understanding the lessons of Australia's Gold Coast through the late 20th century debate on criticality and instrumentality in architecture. This project will investigate the role of architecture in the western city through problems in 20th century architectural theory. It will show how the Gold Coast offers new insights into contemporary architecture and will result in two closely related books: an architectural history of the Gold Coast; and a new account of contemporary architectural theory.
Emerging futures: transit-oriented development as a strategy for dealing with urban sprawl and congestion in South East Queensland. This project will examine the phenomenon of urban sprawl in SEQ to understand how sprawl is impacting on architectural and urban environments. Transit-oriented devlopment (TOD)is seen as a global strategy for inhibiting urban sprawl, but the benefits of TOD are not yet measured in Australia. With increased density around railway infrastructure the threat to public s ....Emerging futures: transit-oriented development as a strategy for dealing with urban sprawl and congestion in South East Queensland. This project will examine the phenomenon of urban sprawl in SEQ to understand how sprawl is impacting on architectural and urban environments. Transit-oriented devlopment (TOD)is seen as a global strategy for inhibiting urban sprawl, but the benefits of TOD are not yet measured in Australia. With increased density around railway infrastructure the threat to public safety is raised. This study will examine the wider issues of TOD with respect to four inter-disciplinary areas: architecture and urban design, urban planning, security, counter-terrorism and threat management, transport strategy and insitutional management.Read moreRead less
Carbon neutral communities: making the transition. This project has well defined National benefits, both economic and social, for the collaborative partners, the business community, policy makers, community groups and the broader Australian community. It contributes toward NRP 1, through developing practical measures for reducing GHG emissions in Australian urban areas, and strategies for overcoming barriers to greater uptake of energy efficiency and alternative technologies; and helping Austra ....Carbon neutral communities: making the transition. This project has well defined National benefits, both economic and social, for the collaborative partners, the business community, policy makers, community groups and the broader Australian community. It contributes toward NRP 1, through developing practical measures for reducing GHG emissions in Australian urban areas, and strategies for overcoming barriers to greater uptake of energy efficiency and alternative technologies; and helping Australia to meet its greenhouse reduction targets. The project economic benefits to through energy savings; stimulating innovation in urban design, building design and transport use; promoting new business opportunities; and encouraging more sustainable lifestyle decisions. Read moreRead less
Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities. This project plans to examine the post-World War Two evolution of the Australian university campus. Modern campuses created opportunities for the realisation of innovative solutions in urban planning, architecture and landscape. The project plans to reveal the physical impacts of political, institutional, social and cultural demands through comparative thematic investigation, digital visualisation and detailed case studies. Foregrounding landscape ....Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities. This project plans to examine the post-World War Two evolution of the Australian university campus. Modern campuses created opportunities for the realisation of innovative solutions in urban planning, architecture and landscape. The project plans to reveal the physical impacts of political, institutional, social and cultural demands through comparative thematic investigation, digital visualisation and detailed case studies. Foregrounding landscape and site, the project aims to establish new historical knowledge, identify campuses as catalysts for urban thinking, and demonstrate strategies for their conservation and adaptation to meet future needs in the tertiary sector.Read moreRead less
What's the catch? Social and environmental sustainability of seafood. This project aims to improve the social and environmental sustainability of wild caught seafood globally. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of seafood trade and sustainability using interdisciplinary approaches that account for social sustainability concepts and the displacement of fishing impacts. Expected outcomes include innovative approaches that can improve the traceability and sustainability of s ....What's the catch? Social and environmental sustainability of seafood. This project aims to improve the social and environmental sustainability of wild caught seafood globally. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of seafood trade and sustainability using interdisciplinary approaches that account for social sustainability concepts and the displacement of fishing impacts. Expected outcomes include innovative approaches that can improve the traceability and sustainability of seafood and new international collaborations. This should provide significant benefits to the ocean, by proposing innovative ways for protecting the ocean through improving the sustainability of trade policies, and to the billions of people that depend on a healthy ocean for their health and livelihood. Read moreRead less
Lifetime Affordable Housing in Australia: Integrating environmental performance and affordability. Existing dwellings and the locations of suburban housing with respect to employment centres result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Water and other environmental issues are also important in housing performance, and there is currently a perceived trade-off between these factors and the affordability of housing. For the first time in Australia, this study will focus on overcoming this appare ....Lifetime Affordable Housing in Australia: Integrating environmental performance and affordability. Existing dwellings and the locations of suburban housing with respect to employment centres result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Water and other environmental issues are also important in housing performance, and there is currently a perceived trade-off between these factors and the affordability of housing. For the first time in Australia, this study will focus on overcoming this apparent policy dilemma. The research will inform future housing policy in strengthening Australia's economic and social fabric, while contributing towards Australia's National Research Priority 1 'Environmentally Sustainable Australia'. Outcomes will provide significant national economic, social, water use and greenhouse gas benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. This project aims to develop a whole-of-life procurement decision-making framework so schools can make delivering better education more cost effective. This framework—which draws on state-of-the-art and Nobel prize-winning theories and a new theory the project will develop—will be used in government and private schools. The effectiveness of this fram ....Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. Innovative procurement theories to optimise education per cost of school. This project aims to develop a whole-of-life procurement decision-making framework so schools can make delivering better education more cost effective. This framework—which draws on state-of-the-art and Nobel prize-winning theories and a new theory the project will develop—will be used in government and private schools. The effectiveness of this framework in improving schools will be shown using a new approach to make school facilities deliver educational outcomes and account for their total production and transaction costs. This research is expected to deliver more efficient ways to future-proof schools to create a well performing school system and more resilient infrastructure vital to Australia’s future prosperity.Read moreRead less
Economics of Conserving Australian Tropical Wildlife: An Analysis of the Role of Economic Valuation, Property Rights and Commercialisation. Australian tropical native animals are selected to analyse economic valuation (use and non-use valuation) of wildlife species and to assess systematically the role of property rights and commercialisation in conservation. The project will (1) reduce bias of Australian economic studies in favour of temperate species; (2) answer several unresolved questions ra ....Economics of Conserving Australian Tropical Wildlife: An Analysis of the Role of Economic Valuation, Property Rights and Commercialisation. Australian tropical native animals are selected to analyse economic valuation (use and non-use valuation) of wildlife species and to assess systematically the role of property rights and commercialisation in conservation. The project will (1) reduce bias of Australian economic studies in favour of temperate species; (2) answer several unresolved questions raised in the Parlimentary Report on Commercial Utilisation of Australian Wildlife; (3) advance economic theory (e.g. relating to dynamic influences on economic valuation) and provide new insights into property rights making use of empirical and experimental results, and (4) thereby contribute to public policy decision-making.Read moreRead less